FEMA Was Warned Their Response in Mississippi Would Lead to "Riots"

According to the Associate Press, "FEMA realized its response to Hurricane Katrina was "broken" and braced for rioting over woefully low supplies in Mississippi in the days just after the storm, according to new documents released Monday."

"This is unlike what we have seen before," wrote William Carwile, FEMA's former top responder in Mississippi, in an e-mail sent September 1, three days after the hurricane. He couldn't get body bags to Mississippi.

"I personally authorized Hancock County to buy refer (sic) trucks that had been carrying ice becasue (sic) the coroner was going to have to start putting bodies out in the parking lot as his cooler was getting full. Still lots and lots of bodies out there." The next day he wrote: "System appears broken."

The troubles got worse from there. Local FEMA officials had to report that their plan could lead to disaster.

"If we get the quantities in your report tomorrow we will have serious riots," Fenton wrote.

Carwile wrote back: "Turns out this report is true. There seems to be no way we will get commodities in amounts beyond those indicated below. And it turns out these shortfalls were know much earlier in the day and we were not informed. Will need big time law enforcement reinforcements tomorrow. All our good will here in MS will be very seriously impacted by noon tomorrow. Have been holding it together as it is."

"Gulfport Ms only has enough commodities for roughly 3 hours distribution tomorrow," FEMA deputy chief of staff Scott Morris wrote in an e-mail sent at 11:46 p.m. on Aug. 29 — just hours after the storm roared ashore. "Apparently, the local law enforcement officials have allowed evacuees back into city."

Replying to Carwile's e-mail about body bag shortages, Scott wrote: "Let me know how I can help. 24/7 whatever you need."

"One of the things we have learned is that our logistic resources weren't up to the task, and the technology that we were using wasn't up to the task," FEMA's spokesman said. He also said that Michael Chertoff "has said that one of his priorities is retooling FEMA and, as part of that, making it a 21st century agency."